The Vision
by rosemerry
Summary: The Witchblade is giving Sara another troublesome vision and she is determined to get to the bottom of it.


The Vision

By: Rosemerry

Rated: PG-13

Distribution: Just ask first. :)

Disclaimer: Witchblade, Sara Pezzini, and Ian Nottingham, belong to Top Cow, TNT, and producers, etc. - not me!

Category: Drama/Romance Sara/Ian

Feedback: Yes, please.

Spoilers: Takes place after "the time rewind".

Summary: The Witchblade is giving Sara another troublesome vision and she is determined to get to the bottom of it.

Thanks: To Wildswan for the beta-read.

The Vision

It had happened again. The Witchblade had shown her the awful sight of Ian Nottingham opening his coat, taking bullets meant for her, and dying. Why was the Witchblade showing her this? Had this happened in the past, or was this something she could prevent, like Dalek?

Sara leaned back on the bench she had been sitting on and sighed. It was a beautiful, sunny day and she should be enjoying her lunch break, but she couldn't get Nottingham out of her mind.

She wished she knew why she was having this vision. What was the Witchblade trying to tell her?

The first couple of times it had happened during her dreams at night. She lumped it in with the rest of her crazy dreams and tried to forget about it. Then it started happening during the day. The first time it happened, she was at a crime scene with Danny and Jake. The male victim had been shot multiple times. She had crouched beside the body and leaned over to get a better look at his wounds, extending her right arm to keep her balance. Suddenly, the whole vision replayed in her mind and when it stopped she felt dizzy. She pulled her hand back and realized that Jake and Danny were giving her "the look". 

"Hey, Pez, whatcha doin'?" Jake asked.

"Yeah. What happened?" Danny added. 

Sara quickly made something about up about what type of gun the victim was shot with. That seemed to appease them and Sara was relieved.

That night the vision visited her again. The images were even more vivid than they had been before. When Sara saw Nottingham fall, she cried out in her sleep, waking herself up. She felt cold, but her T-shirt was damp with sweat. A chill ran down her spine and she shivered. She sat up and pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged them, trying to warm herself. 

A thousand thoughts ran through her mind. Why? Why was she having this vision? What did it mean? Why would Nottingham let himself be shot for her? And why did the thought of it make her feel sick to her stomach? Why should it bother her that much?

She had not been able to answer any of her questions and that afternoon on the bench, she went over everything again, trying to make sense of it. She was certain now that the Witchblade was trying to tell her something, but what that something was kept eluding her.

Suddenly her cell phone rang, breaking the spell of her thoughts. 

"Yeah. Pezzini."

"Hey, Pez! You ever coming back to work?"

She looked down at her watch. Crap! She was twenty minutes late!

"Sorry, Danny. I'm on my way."

"All right. But hurry up, Pez. The suspect was just brought in and we need to interrogate him."

"Gotcha. I'll be there."

Danny hung up and Sara put the phone back in her pocket. Figuring out what to do about Nottingham would have to wait.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The rest of the day was a whirlwind for Sara and she breathed a sigh of relief as she got on the Buell. She couldn't wait to get home and crash on the couch.

Traffic was terrible, but she took advantage of the shortcuts she knew. It still seemed to take forever, but finally, she was home. She dragged herself up the stairs and opened the door. She took off her coat and threw it at the coat rack.

She was so tired that she didn't even notice the dark figure standing in the back of the kitchen… 

"Hello, Sara."

She whirled around. "Nottingham! What are you doing here?!" she said sharply.

Ian looked down at the floor before bringing his eyes back up to her level.

"Sara, your suspect is not what he says he is…" 

The vision again. Dammit! It was even worse this time - the last look he gave her, the way she felt when she saw him fall. The feelings were so acute.

She could feel her heart pounding rapidly, and her stomach felt like it was about to reject its contents. The hairs on her bare arms and on the back of her neck stood on end and she felt a chill run down her spine. What if this vision came true? What would she do without Nottingham? 

Suddenly the vision left her and all she saw were Ian's big brown eyes, staring at her, waiting for a response to the information he had just given her…

…which she hadn't heard a word of. She looked down, but a split second later realized he would probably leave.

"Nottingham! Don't leave!" 

She looked up in time to see him standing at the door, his back to her. He turned around and she walked toward him.

Ian wondered what she would say. Nothing could have prepared him for what was to come.

Sara wanted to stop these visions. No matter what he had done, she didn't want him to die for her. Maybe if she told him about these visions, they would stop.

"Nottingham, I didn't hear a word you said 'cause I was having another damn vision."

"About the case?"

"No. About you."

"Me?" Ian's heart caught in his throat.

"Yes." Sara stopped and looked at Ian. Did anyone else but him understand about the Witchblade and how it made her feel? Was anyone else able to help her the way he could? She looked into his eyes, his beautiful eyes, and she felt her heart swell. No, no one would ever be able to understand her the way he did. She could not lose him. She felt her eyes well up with tears and she looked down again.

Ian was curious as to why she hadn't said anything. Any other day, she would have pulled her gun on him, yelled at him, and kicked him out long before this. She had looked at him and then looked down, almost as if she were going to cry. What could the Witchblade have shown her about him that would make her sad? He had to know, no matter what she said to him, he had to know. 

"And? What did the Witchblade show you, Sara?"

Sara looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. "You." Her voice caught in her throat and she swallowed before she went on. "You died for me."

She took a quick breath and continued before he could get a word in.

"And I don't want you to die for me, Nottingham. I want you to live."

Ian's heart soared. Maybe she did not hate him as much as he feared.

Sara looked at him and noticed the hopeful expression in his eyes. He was the only one, the only one who could fill her lonely heart.

"Promise me you won't die for me. You're the only one who really gets it Nottingham and I need that…I need you. Do you promise me?"

Ian thought his heart would burst. She had said she needed him!

"Yes, Sara, I promise. I would do anything to please you." 

The words sounded warmly familiar to her. She looked in his eyes and saw the love and devotion. She had been so blind before. Why had she fought so hard against him? All he wanted was to love and protect her. At that thought, her eyes overflowed and the tears ran down her face.

Ian worried that he had made it worse. It pained him to see her beautiful green eyes filled with tears. He wanted to take her pain away, but would she let him?

He decided to take the risk. He stepped toward her, closing the gap of physical space between them. He raised both his hands to her face and using his thumbs, gently swept the tears from her cheeks.

"Please do not cry, Sara.", he said, his voice a husky whisper.

Sara looked up at him and it hit her like a ton of bricks. She loved him, that was why she felt the way she did when she was around him and why the Witchblade visions had bothered her so much. All her yelling and angry words had really been a case of "the lady doth protest too much". She had been afraid of loving this man, of how vulnerable that made her. But life was too short and maybe if she could make him see that she loved him.

"Ian", she breathed.

She closed her eyes and leaned her face into the palm of his right hand.

Ian held his breath. Could she love him? Could his dreams be coming true?

Sara breathed, taking in the wonderful, warm feeling of his hands on her face. What would it feel like to be held in his arms? She decided it was time to find out. Her eyes still closed, she reached her hands out and felt for his waist. She wrapped her arms around his back under his open coat and buried her face in his soft black sweater.

Ian's arms were still stretched out to where her face had been, and he suddenly realized that he was still holding his breath. He breathed in deeply, feeling her move against his chest. He wrapped his left arm around her back and rested his right hand against her hair, stoking it softly. He leaned down and gently kissed the top of her head. Then he closed his eyes, turned his head, and rested his cheek on the spot he had just kissed.

They stood there for several moments, each of them taking comfort in each other's arms.

Sara thought, "I've got to tell him how I feel."

At the same time, Ian was thinking the same thing, only he still feared her rejection, but he had to know. He took another deep breath, and still stroking her hair, he said, "Sara, I love you. I have always loved you and will always love you. Forever." He kissed her head again and waited for her response.

The Witchblade glowed and Sara saw glimpses of her and Ian in different times - laughing, fighting together, kissing, making love. He had always been with her, loving her, making her happy, protecting her.

She pulled away from him slightly and looked into his eyes. She felt incredibly happy, like she had come home after being away far too long. She smiled at Ian and reached her hand up to touch his face.

"I love you, too, Ian Nottingham. Forever."

He only had to look in her eyes to know it was true and feel the depth of her love. He returned her smile.

They reached for each other and their lips met in a soft kiss that quickly deepened. 


End file.
